Peruvian fighting festival madness

For Peruvians, every year, xmas gifts are handed out by the bunch in the form of punches to the face. This is part of an ancient tradition called Takanakuy.

According to a totally unreliable source:

“Takanakuy, which means “when the blood is boiling” in Quechua, one of the oldest spoken dialects of Peru, is an annual celebration that gives people the chance to solve personal differences with members of their community the old fashioned way”

“Many of the fighters cover their faces with traditional colorful ski masks and hang different stuffed animals on them, to scare opponents”

“On the day of the festival, participants (men, women and children alike) gather in the local bullring, where they engage in a bare knuckle fight, supervised by local authorities who act as referees. Men mostly stick to punching, but in women’s matches kicking is very popular and while contenders don’t seem to be holding back much, injuries are rarely reported. Fighters are not allowed to hit their opponents while they’re down, and they risk getting whipped if they forget about this important rule.”